It was Steve Jobs who famously said, “A lot of times, people don’t know what they want until you show it to them.”

That notion is glorified by entrepreneurs, dealmakers and salespeople everywhere, but rarely embraced and dissected by consumers on the receiving end. However, it’s customers who have a real opportunity to benefit from this idea.

In the sea of the Sydney real estate, our perfect match is often out there, long before we realise what we actually want. Plenty of people hunt for homes in circles, before buying something contradictory to their original search parameters.

One recent example began in Darlinghurst. This particular buyer knew what they wanted, but with a house/townhouse budget of $1.2 million, they kept coming up short when competing in the Inner East.

They were then urged to try Marrickville for a Darlo-like buzz, a connection to the inner city, and its Inner West colour.

After viewing a number of properties in the area they made an unconditional offer of $1,250,000 on this Marrickville townhouse. Several local parties were trying to purchase the property but hadn’t made strong enough moves. Happy buyer. Happy seller.

The idea of anyone directing people on their search is the polar opposite of what buyers have come to expect. They’re used to providing email addresses when searching in certain parameters, only to be spammed with irrelevant offerings for the rest of their lives.

Agents could become more professional and add some objective clarity amid these big decisions. They see everything that comes onto the market in their area and (if it’s not their own listing) their objectivity is helpful.

In Erskineville, this home sold to a Redfern buyer who has never considered looking that bit further west. At the time, there were three local buyers competing for the property in the low $2 million range.

Once the Redfern buyer came into play, the auction went $50,000 further than any of the buyers were talking, and $160,000 more than the owners wanted originally. Meanwhile, the Redfern buyer secured a far superior house than his original search was unearthing.

At a freestanding house in Rozelle recently, one home hunter ended up going on to buy a one-bedroom apartment in Balmain. But their initial goal had been a 2-bed/2-bath apartment with parking.

After not finding anything that suited in a while, they were encouraged to look at this 1-bed pad with parking for its views and wow factor. With the prerequisite “I didn’t expect to like this much” out of the way, the deal was wrapped up quickly.

This type of buying-to-taste can’t be done just via phone, email and individual legwork.

We’re forever learning more about the market as our own searches go on, through missing out on the good ones, or finding the next perfect thing. And those working in the industry discover more about buyers through listening for any underlying desires.

The pros will know what people want before they realise it even exists. They can predict disappointment around price expectations, stock scarcity, quality of offerings and more.

We need more like-mindedness and willingness to engage with buyers on a deeper level. Then agents can do the hard yards in our home hunting. Make them work for it.